Sound-reproducing and scene-displaying apparatus.



No 745,216. I v PATENTED NOV. '24, 1903.

c. P. MENSING. SOUND REPRODUCING AND SCENE DISPLAYING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED AIR. 17, 1903.

H0 MODEL. I

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jection of the scene on the screen, the great UNITED STATES Patented November 24,

PATENT OFFICE.

CARL F. MENSING, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,216, dated November 24, 1903. I

Application filed April 17, 1903.

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL F. MENSING, a citizen of the United States,- residing at Kansas City, in the county of Jackson and State of Missouri, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sound-Reproducing and Scene-Displaying Apparatus, of Whichthe following is a specification.

' My invention relates to amusement devices of that class whereby pictures are dis played illustrative of certain scenes of a song, address, &c., delivered by a phonograph or other sound-reproducing machine; and my object is to produce simple, durable, and reliable means whereby the reproduction of the words of the scene by the phonograph shall be attended by the synchronous prodifliculty heretofore having been to display the scene just as the words depicting or suggesting the same were reproduced.

With the object in view above mentioned the invention consists in certain novel and peculiar features of construction and organization, as hereinafter described and claimed, and in order that it may be fully understood reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 represents a vertical section of a portion of a cabinet equipped with a phonograph and apparatus controlled thereby for permitting the picture to be displayed at the proper moment. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section of the cabinet with certain parts broken away to disclose the apparatus beneath.

In the said drawings, 1- designates a cabinet of any suitable or preferred type, and 2 a horizontal partition therefor, said partition in practice being of such character that light cannot pass through it. Mounted upon the partition is a phonograph or other soundreproducing machine, the drawings illustrat ing only those portions of the phonograph intimately or cooperatively related to my improvement.

3 designates the usual traveling arm of the phonograph, said arm being pivoted to operate vertically in the usual manner, its front end being raised at the end of the sound-reproduction hy means of the pivoted lift-plate 4, resting on arm 5, which is automatically raised by mechanism common in automatic Serial No. 153,022. (No model.)

coin-operated phonographs, and therefore not described or shown herein.

'6 designates an insulator-y plate secured to arm 3 just above its pivotal point, and 7 a contact-arm secured to said insulatory plate, so as to travel with arm 3 and rise and fall with the same under the action of the liftplate 4, it being understood that when the arm 3 reaches the end of its travel plate 4 is elevated and raising the front end of the arm holds it elevated until said arm has returned to its initial position, as shown by Fig. 2. When it attains such position, its front end is permitted to drop and in such action disposes the rear end of contact-arm 7, which is preferably beveled at its righthand side in the plane of the front ends of spring'contacts 8, these spring-contacts in number equaling the scenes to be projected including the announcement-scene, which is simply a scene giving the title of the next reproduction and the other information usual in such cases. The spring-contacts 8 project from collars 9, secured by set-screws 10 on a rod 11, the set-screws of alternate collars being disposed in different radial planes by preference in order that the contacts may be brought nearer together when necessary. Rod 11 is mounted in insulator-y arms 12 of a supporting-bar 13, projecting from a standard 14, or the rod may be otherwise supported, and in order to limit the downward movement of the spring-contacts, and thus guard against the contact arm striking squarely against the edge of any of the contacts and bending the same out of its proper position, a supporting-rod 15 is carried by arms 12.

A plate 16, in electric engagement with rod 11,is connected by conductors 17 to the usual motor (not shown) found in sound-reproducing instruments, the motor being driven, of course, from a storage battery (not shown) or other source of electric supply.

The contact-arm 7 is electrically connected by conductor 18 to an electromagnet 19, mounted on a bracket 20, secured within the cabinet, as shown, or in any other suitable manner, said magnet being in turn connected by conductor 21 to the motor above referred The magnet is preferably secured at about the angle shown, and to its lowest pole ILO is secured a bracket 2:2, to the outer end of which is pivoted the bevel-end armature 23, held away from the poles, as usual, by the retractile spring 24, the pin 25 preventing the spring from withdrawing the armature beyond the magnetic influence of the poles.

26 is a lever pivoted below and opposite the lower pole of the magnet and extending approximately parallel with the armature and held by gravity normally against stop-pin 27 and in the path of lugs 28, projecting from a slide-carrier 29. This slide-carrier is adapted to rotate to bring its slides (not shown) successively opposite a suitable condensinglens. (Not shown.) The slide may be of the rotary type, as indicated by its curved form, or of any other suitable or preferred type.

30 is an arm projecting from the upper side of lever 26 and connected by a retractile spring 31 to a catch 32, pivoted to the lever and extending toward the upper pole of the magnet, said catch having a recess 33, where in the free end of the armature may play, and a beveled surface 33a for engagement at times with the last-named magnet-pole and with the armature for purposes which hereinafter appear.

In practice the phonograph-arm 3 is usually at rest some distance to the right of the position in which it appears in Fig. 2, the exact distance varying according to the speed with which the motor was operating as the previous sound-reproduction was taking place. In such position its front end was tilted upward by lift-plate 4, so that there could be no engagement of the arm 7 with contacts 8. Now as the phonograph is set in operation through the medium of a coin or other actuating mechanism (not shown because common in this class of machines) the arm 3 moves to the left to the position shown in full lines, Fig. 2, plate t then dropping to lower the front end of arm 3 and throw contact-arm 7 in the plane of contacts 8. As this occurs arm 3 immediately begins its movement to the right, and as it strikes and slightly presses upward on the first contact 8 a current of electricity is passed through the magnet and energizes the same. This attracts armature 23 and through the engagement of the same with catch 32 lifts lever 26 out of the path of slide-carrier lug 28 and permits said slide-carrier to advance and depict through the condensing-lens and other wellknown apparatus the first scene upon the screen, said scene being that suggested by the words being reproduced by the phonograph at the same moment. As the attraction of the armature and the dropping of the lever is in progress the catch is being thrown outward against the resistance of spring 31 by reason of its beveled end 34: being forced by the armature against the opposing pole of the magnet, and by the time said lever has been completely tripped out of the path of the slide-carrier lug 28 the catch has also been tripped off the end of the armature, this relever resumes its operative position in the I path of lug 28 contact-arm 7 passes out of engagement with the first contact 8, and the magnet is deenergized to permit spring 24c to withdraw the armature: and in such action, through its engagement with the beveled end 34: of the catch, to force said catch outwardly until the end of the armature reenters the catch-recess 33, so as to be ready to trip the lever 26, when the circuitis again established through the magnet. l/Vith each subsequent energization of the magnet, due to the successive engagement of contact-arm 7 with contacts 8, the slide is permitted to move and display the proper picture, being held inactive While the arm 7 is traversing the space between contacts.

While I have illustrated and described the preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that it is susceptible of modification in various particulars without departing from the principle and scope or sacrificing any of its advantages.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is i l. A sound-reproducing and scene-displaying apparatus, comprising a sound-reproducer, a contact-arm carried thereby, a series of contacts adapted for successive engagement with said arm, an electromagnet in circuit with said arm, an armature, a lever, and connections between said lever and the armature whereby attraction of the latter by the magnet shall raise or trip the former and then effect its release from the armature.

2. A sound-reproducing and scene-displaying apparatus, comprising a sound-re producer, a contact-arm carried thereby, a series of contacts adapted for successive engagement with said arm, an electromagnet in circuit with said arm, an armature, a lover, a catch connecting the lever and the armature to trip the former as the latter is attracted by the magnet, and means being provided to release one end of said catch to permit the lever to resume its original position, as soon as the tripping action is completely effected.

3. A sound-reproducing and scene-displaying apparatus, comprising a sound-reproducer, a contact-arm carried thereby, a series of contacts adapted for successive engagement with said arm, an electromagnet in circuit with said arm, an armature, a lever, a catch connecting the lever and the armature to trip the former as the latter is attracted by the magnet, means being provided to release one end of said catch to permit the lever to resume its original position as soon as the tripping action is completely effected, and means to press the catch yieldingly toward the armature.

4. A sound-reproducing and scene-displaying apparatus, comprising a sound-reproducer, a contact-arm carried thereby, a series of contacts adapted for successive engagement with said arm, an electromagnet in circuit with said arm, an armature, a lever, a catch connecting the lever and armature to trip the former as the latter is attracted by the magnet, means being provided to release one end of said catch to permit the lever to resume its original position, and means to effect the rengagement of the armature with the catch as the magnet is denergized.

V 5. The combination with an electromagnet and an armature therefor, of a lever, a catch normally connecting the armature and lever, and means being provided to trip said catch when the armature is attracted by the magnet.

6. The combination with an electromagnet and an armature therefor, of a lever, a catch normally connecting the armature and lever, means being provided to trip said catch when the armature is attracted by the magnet, and means to establish the original relation between the armature and lever when the magnet is denergized.

. 7. The combination with an electromagnet and an armature therefor, of a lever, and a pivoted catch normally connecting the lever and armature, said connection at one end being automatically detachable.

8. The combination with an electromagnet and an armature therefor, of a lever, and a catch pivoted to the lever and normally held yieldingly in engagement with the armature and magnet.

9. The combination with an electromagnet and an armature therefor, of a lever, and a catch pivoted to the lever and normally held yieldingly in engagement with the armature and magnet; said catch having a beveled end in the presence of two witnesses.

CARL F. MENSING.

Witnesses:

H. O. RODGERS, G. Y. THoRPE. 

